Assuming owners keep 35-40 percent of the rent (the standard share) they would pay between $500-15,000 a year to cover expenses.

all cash....thanks for your replyyou are correct, my current loan balance is about 200k (i approxmiated my loan balance...didn't think that principal came down that fast).My dilemma is whether it is better to cash out and put the 490k in the bank and earn 5% ($22,500) per year or have a net cash flow of $1,800/year in a deflating housing market....Assuming in 10 years from now the home is fully paid off AND the fmv of the home in 2016 is equal to current fmv of $725k....what would be the benefit of keeping the property?

I dont know the balance on the note or the monthly payments but it was rented for 1500. so I am assuming he isnt a total bone head and made some $$ on the rent so it has to be lower than 1500.00.

I am assuming you would compare everything to a risk-free type investment like a CD or Savings Account and additionally maybe something like a mutual index fund for your analysis.For me, I believe I would normally pay somewhere between 700-900 on rent not including utilities.

I might be wrong - but when the investor purchase the property and then sells it to his buyer the same day...I am assuming here that the buyer is closing the same day too.

Don't assume that your local retail home improvement store is the place to go for all of your needs- remember, every dollar spent in excess is a dollar lost.Make sure that your figures work out, and give yourself some financial room for the unexpected expenses that almost always come up when dealing with rehabs.Establish a good business relationship with wholesalers in your area.

Then I assume an exchange 1031 would be the way to go if we lived there a short time to fix it up before renting and then buy another home to actually live in.

Google searches and wiki links would generally be fine, I would assume.

What vacancy rate have you assumed to come up with your break-even cash flow?

I assumed the agent's commission was going to be based on the monthly rental of our property....$3000.